# Anupam Kher says he refuses to carry the weight of his own stardom

Published 2026-10-11T08:05:43Z

> Anupam Kher, back on stage with the musical play Jaane Pehchaane Anjaane on a 45-day tour of the US and Canada, says living a normal life keeps the loneliness of stardom away.

Anupam Kher says he keeps his stardom off his shoulders, because a star who holds himself apart from ordinary life ends up lonely.

The veteran actor is back in theatre after a few years with Jaane Pehchaane Anjaane, a play that uses humour and music to look at loneliness and relationships. He and his troupe are on a 45-day run across the US and Canada, playing several cities to warm crowds. It is also the first musical he has ever staged.

Kher spoke during a break from a script reading with director Gajendra Ahire. On the North American tour, he said, the star in him would look very lonely if he stopped sitting in lobbies beside bread and butter shops and sushi bars, or gave up riding buses. Loneliness only turns frightening for someone living in an ivory tower, he added, and he leads a very normal life.

Indians abroad feel a deep emotional tie to the country, he said, so a story performed live by a well-known actor brings them closer to both the person and the subject.

Jaane Pehchaane Anjaane is set in a middle-class neighbourhood of today and follows a widow, a widower, a young paying guest and a woman going through a separation in mid-life. Three generations appear: elders who live away from their children, the middle-aged, and the young. Kher blamed phones and the internet for what he called a loneliness epidemic, one he says has reached India too, with emojis now standing in for smiles and hugs.

Over four decades on stage he has done Shakespeare, Brecht and stylised work, including Saalgirah with his wife Kirron, Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai, and Mera Woh Matlab Nahi Tha with Neena Gupta. These days he prefers plays a father in the audience can recognise as his own story.

Ahire wrote and directed the production, which also brings Swaroop Sampat back to the stage after nearly two decades. Houston-based Star Promotion Inc, run by Indian-American Rajendra Singh, presented it in the US.

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Source: https://clapnumber.com/news/anupam-kher-says-he-refuses-to-carry-the-weight-of-his-own-stardom
Retrieved: 2026-10-11